The Vancouver EP is UBC student Matt Henry Kwan’s sample-heavy homage to Vancouver’s under-appreciated local music. For the past four months the third-year English literature major has indulged himself in the art of sampling: taking sounds off of records or the internet and use them musically. It all began with a trip to Zulu records on 4th avenue where he saw the local band The Zolas perform.
“It’s at that point that I realized that I’m going to be here for four and a half years and go away not even knowing a thing about the culture," said Kwan, who wants to use sampling as a way to expand his knowledge of the local music scene.
Kwan hopes to point people towards the 40+ artists he’s sampled including SNFU, Skylark, Valentines, the Zolas, JPNSGRLS, Young Canadians, Sarah McLachlan and Hannah Epperson. In doing so, he has created a beautiful collection of tracks that captures more than the sounds of Vancouver artists, but the atmosphere and culture of the city as well.
The first song on the EP, Coast, is named in honour of Coast 1040, an influential Vancouver radio station from the early 90s.
Track two, Punk Only, only uses samples from punk and hardcore songs. Given the typically intense energy of the punk genre, the track is surprisingly upbeat.
Next, Sampling Vancouver is a vibrant piece that uses the highest number of independent song samples yet they come together to form a highly coherent, deep track.
The minimalistic intro groove of Only One escalates with a warm and complex Daft Punk-style sample that fills in the soundscape through the use of a high-pass filter.
The fifth and -- according to Kwan -- most representational track of the EP is This City’s Wilderness. The hectic, relentless and intentionally unquantized percussion is reminiscent of the busy urban life while the track floats, almost ironically, on a foundation of west-coast mellow vibes as pitched vocals carry the melody.
Coast2 opens with dreamy sounds of wind chimes, guitar and a sample of waves hitting Kitsilano beach like summer nights spent huddled around a bonfire. As if interrupting a lofty memory, you are quickly pulled into a funky groove inducing vivid and compelling nostalgia. The precision in Kwan’s production ability does not go unnoticed before the track ends with a departing message of Coast 1040.
The density of ideas, imagery and creativity successfully dilutes the EPs only possible disappointment; that each track is relatively short at 1.5 to 2.5 minutes long. Armed with his Akai MPD24, a slew of records and Logic Pro 9, Kwan takes the listener on a journey.
“[The EP] just speaks to me about the way Vancouver feels. And it makes it all the more real that it’s all sampling just artists from here,” Kwan said. “I just want people to listen to my music knowing that it’s samples of Vancouver artists… [or] I guess just, listen to it in Vancouver.”
The Vancouver EP is available to stream or download for free on Soundcloud.
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